3/28/2012

The Clash -- "The Magnificent Seven"
Among the few surviving remnants from Don Letts' 1981 video footage of The Clash in New York, there is a shot of a black New Yorker with a ghetto blaster jiving to "The Magnificent Seven."  It's a great moment in the history of this band; a bunch of skinny British punks had come to New York, absorbed the sound of the city, and made that sound their own.  The instrumental remix of "The Magnificent Seven" was even a hit on WBLS. 

With this track, the first track on Sandinista!, The Clash moved into new terrain.  They managed to take on a new beat without losing the muscular stride of their music.  This is rap, but it's rap on The Clash's terms.